NEW ORLEANS  It’s been slightly more than six years since Drew Brees and his sewn-together throwing shoulder were sent from San Diego, the only real suitor for his services being a desperate team in a demoralized city.

Chargers fans are still waiting. New Orleans has its Lombardi Trophy.

So as we await the first regular season matchup between Brees and his former team on American soil (they played a preseason game in 2010 and met in London in ’08, both games won by the Saints) we are left to wonder whether the Chargers made the right choice in pinning their hopes on Philip Rivers.

Well, some people are left to wonder. Not me.

Of course the Chargers made the right choice.

I know that some under-informed ingénue arguing for Brees as the superior signal caller could state his case in two words: Super Bowl.

Brees is a fantastic quarterback. Most teams would be better with him.

Brees has thrown for more yards and more touchdowns than any other NFL quarterback since arriving in New Orleans. He’s represented not only the heart of a rebuilt franchise but a rebuilt city.

I went to Alabama in 2006 to watch him rehab. I said then that I’d never bet against Brees, and I never will. Look at him and wonder how he’s done it. Look at his history and have no doubt it’s because he has an incalculable drive to match his uncanny talent.

But the Chargers made the correct move in letting him go after the 2005 season. (They maybe could have got more than a third-round compensatory draft pick that turned out to be Anthony Waters, but that is not what is in dispute here.)

You’re blaming Rivers for the Chargers not winning a Super Bowl?

Granted, he’s 3-4 with nine interceptions and eight touchdowns in the postseason. He also played in an AFC Championship Game with no ACL.

But I know that he makes the Chargers better.

Don’t blame A.J. Smith for keeping the healthy quarterback with the great upside. Blame Smith for not putting better players around that QB.

Same as I said about the Eli Manning-Rivers query in February, if Rivers had the Giants’ defense he’d have two Super Bowl rings right now.

Yes, Rivers needs to stop forcing the ball and making negative plays.

Funny thing, though, Brees is in a situation he hasn’t encountered in a while – with a defense that is not helping out – and he has made his share of mistakes this season. His interception on an ill-advised throw into the end zone essentially cost the Saints a chance to put away the game last week against Kansas City.

Look, the Chargers would be fine with Brees. But they’re in great hands with Rivers.

I stood in a Dallas hotel lobby two summers ago talking to a veteran player I trust very much. He was skirting around the issue of how good he thought the Chargers could be in 2011.

He wanted to be optimistic, but the reason I trust him is that he won’t say things he doesn’t truly believe – even when he won’t tell me everything I want to know.

This past offseason, I revisited that conversation with the player. I told him his reluctance seemed to be a premonition. He confirmed, essentially, that it was. He recalled having already assessed at the time the Chargers’ weaknesses on defense and their lack of enough veteran leadership and depth throughout.